Month: October, 2012

Ok it took me a minute, but these guys deserve a mention. If not for anything other than this particular track “Ms.” I can guarantee you probably haven’t heard anything quite this unique in a while. Alt-J finds a way to be very “out there” musically without crossing over listeners’ weirdness threshold. “Ms” has this strange, liquidy feel to it initially, followed by a stark, monk-like chant that rushes in & out of the song. Somehow, everything seems to flow along beautifully. I can safely say I’m intrigued!

Every time I listen to this new Free Energy track I feel like I am in high school all over again. Not sure whether it’s the music, the lyrics, or perhaps a combo of both + a very familiar feel (summon Jimmy Eat World). Either way, the more I listen to it, the more I like it. Addiction at work. The whole damn thing is wonderfully simple and straightforward. Here is your dose of slow alt-rock for the next long while:

A lot has been happening in the music world as per usual; I am just now catching up! I blame Lord Huron for the musical holding pattern here. The album they just released (Lonesome Dreams) has played on repeat for the past 3 weeks and I have listened to virtually nothing else. I had grand plans of posting about them much earlier, but the tracks available on Soundcloud and other streaming sites weren’t the exact tracks that I wanted to share.

So thankfully, literally today just hours ago, I found out that Spotify is now offering embed codes, which means serrrriously good news for me and this here blog. Without further ado, the undeniably perfect Lord Huron album. Be warned, they have the most captivating, full sound I’ve heard in ages (well, since their last little release in 2011). They will without a doubt send you tumbling into another state of being.

Favorites (aside from ALL of them): “Lonesome Dreams,” “She Lit A Fire,” “The Man Who Lives Forever,” “The Ends Of The Earth”

I will be the first to admit that of all genres, I am most critical when it comes to country music. I hold it to a different standard altogether; it really has to shine to catch my interest. Not only that, but I listen to traditional country. Growing up, my family introduced me to Jerry Jeff Walker, Waylon Jennings, David Allen Coe, Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr among others…so my ear gravitates toward outlaw country music, not as much the pop-influenced kind. Nonetheless, these three bands are some of the coolest I’ve heard hit the country/Americana/alt-country (however you want to sub-categorize it) scene recently.

Goodnight, Texas captured me with their song “Jesse Got Trapped In A Coal Mine.” I love how it starts with just the stripped down, deep vocals and beat. The song builds from there with intricate banjo picking and lovely slide guitar. Very melodic, very catchy. If you like this song (or even if you don’t, but you still trust me) check out their entire album here.

Denver’s drawn out syllables and lingering melody elicit a most calming, soporific mood. Such a nice number with some fantastic lyrics: “Hey babe, I ain’t gonna go your way ‘cuz this just ain’t like me. There’s things in the world I know nothing about, and that’s just the way it is…”

Then you have Spirit Family Reunion. They are a jangly, semi-gospel/revival-influenced band of sorts. Their charm comes from the whole we-all-just-gathered-on-a-porch-and-started-playing-music sound. Heavy fiddle, group singing, stomps…it’s all here.

Repeat alert! Can’t get enough of this pop-tastic, piano driven tune. It has such a nice, diverse palette of sounds. From the classical piano intro to the kinda psychedelic, funky guitar bit in the middle of the song – it all works. “Driftin” is the perfect amount of pop to please the Top 40-ers, yet with enough ingenuity to pique the eclectic listeners’ critical ears as well. Excited to hear more from Y LUV; if the rest of their music sounds like “Driftin,” I’m thinking Maroon 5 should start sweating!